


Balance

by Hyuns_onlyone



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Magic, Memory Loss, witchy themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 01:36:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14094183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyuns_onlyone/pseuds/Hyuns_onlyone
Summary: Prompt # 090Title: BalanceSummary: Baekhyun used to wish on stars and the phases of the moon, hoping and praying for someone that would treat him right and not be an asshole. What the moon and stars actually reveal to him is so much more.





	Balance

**Author's Note:**

> I want to cry I can't believe I actually finished this fic. Thank you so much to the mods for being so patient with me (especially because I kept asking for extensions and legit finished this fic a day before posting). Thank you to K and S for being the best alpha/beta readers and yelling at me to finish my fic (in a good way of course). And also to S for giving me an idea at the beginning of all of this that basically became the major plot point of this fic. 
> 
> I really hope you all like this because I wanted to cry when I finished it. Thank you for reading <3

 

There’s this eerie wind that feels like it’s going to rip his heart from his chest, and his breath from his lungs. But it’s the chill that comes with the wind that gets to him, and then that odd electricity that he’s felt in the air since he stepped outside today. He’s never felt something like it, almost like something is stirring. It’s not that hard to believe that something bad could happen in his large, endless city. But it’s the walking into the courted off woods on the edge of the restless that has him skeptical.

Baekhyun has ventured out here plenty of times before. It’s far enough away from the raging city streets that he can just barely hear their horns, the racing and revving of engines, motorcycles when they get impatient at lights. There’s the constant construction, but somehow when he heads into the woods that have been left untouched, he feels most at home. It’s calming, and brilliant, and looking up at the sky through the canopy of trees masking around him is surely beautiful. He feels like a different person when he comes into these woods. It’s a distraction from the buzz and flutter of his phone. And he even goes far enough to shut the thing off, not really worrying about what would happen if he couldn’t reach it.

Nothing bad has happened to him physically since he started coming out into the woods, and maybe his obsession with the hidden, unpopulated nature is what created the distance between him and his last long-term boyfriend.

He knows that there is no maybe in that sentence, but he deludes himself into thinking there might be a maybe sometime in the future, with someone else.

But it’s been a while now since he had been in any kind of serious relationship, and Baekhyun considers himself more married to these trees and the boulders that serve as his seats to sit and stare, than anything or anyone else.

He’s dedicated to the twist and turn of the short, yet never-ending woods, and sometimes he feels like he could almost get lost in here. It’s an incomprehensible mess when one looks at it from the outside, but he had been going into these woods for years now, and it feels almost akin to home when he is amongst the ever growing trees. Enough that there has been a few times in the balmy summer where he has fallen asleep in the woods, and woken to soft yellow light poking through the trees above his head.

Baekhyun is there enough that he makes wishes on the circle of flowers that grow next to his favorite spot. He can remember a time when he would wish on the stars he could see by his apartment window, and even wish upon the full moon when he feels a strong enough pull. He lives in a busy city that couldn't care less for the nature buzzing in the background. The city hasn’t even the capacity or space amongst the bustling streets and small complexes to house even small dogs. It’s a rare sight, seeing a domestic dog on a leash amongst the busy city streets. 

Wishing upon the flowers, stars, and full moon is not all he does when he’s in the woods though, and it’s become habit enough that for some reason he’s even got an audience of birds waiting in their perches every time he sings. 

The scene could have been playing out from a fairytale, and Baekhyun thinks maybe that’s exactly where he’s landed when he finds himself singing soft, melodic against the chilling air this night. The wind picks up, still eerie and electric against his skin. He’s wishing it would halt, almost pause, but when it does the wind and electricity brings with it an incandescent voice that belongs to someone he almost recognizes. 

A figure steps out from amongst the trees and with it that eerie, grasping wind comes to a halt and almost freezes on Baekhyun’s skin. He could almost swear aloud that he’s seen an angel, and he can almost believe it’s an angel with iridescent wings coming off the figure’s back and gleaming in the low light of a quarter moon above his head. Not quite an angel then, he muses, as he sees the delicate yet troubling grin stretching across the figure’s lips. 

It’s luring him, like a siren song, except he’s not anywhere near the water. Maybe it’s his own singing and his own lofty words that have him believing that he’s seeing things. The birds have all gone quiet, as if they’re scared of the figure too. Enough not to warn Baekhyun, and then he’s running backwards.

Nothing has ever happened in these woods, and he’s not going to let anything happen to him now…

 

When he wakes in the morning, there is a throbbing in Baekhyun’s head, a ringing in his ears, and dirt caked to his hands and under his nails.

Yet he’s wrapped gently in his bed, protected and still clothed in his one bedroom apartment-loft. Maybe all those wishes next to flower circles and drinking in the moonlight against his skin has him hallucinating. Maybe he saw something in the woods and ran back to his apartment late at night, passing out in the midst of the terror.

Baekhyun gets up from bed, pulling the sheets aside and wondering if some nature spirit had actually followed him up to his loft and tucked him in to bed.

The thought of something like that happening scares the crap out of him, though. Thinking that a spirit clinging to him enough when he is in the woods to make it back to his apartment. Baekhyun wonders then if all his years of feeling that sort of pull towards nature would result in this. If all the crystals lying across his windowsills and ex partners – boyfriends and girlfriends – left judging him for being far too deep in the unnatural, the unreal. They had all thought it was a fantasy world that he was living in, had suffered for it enough that in the end his lack of believing in reality had been enough to break it all off.

His head is swimming with thoughts as he methodically peels himself up from the bed, going slowly to the bathroom sink to wash his hands and face of whatever remains of the woods. Dirt and grime and even the fragrant smell of lavender that clings to him, though he isn’t even sure he had run his hands through the sprigs on his way through the trees and brush.

 

_ “How do you expect me to explain this to my family? Just tell them that my boyfriend believes in a bunch of fairytales?” the accusations and raised voice had done him in, making his eyes go wide and his fingers catch on themselves. Baekhyun was not often a meek person, and there were only rare times when he let his guard down enough to show that softer side of himself to others. Most of those times came when he was with his boyfriend. Junmyeon was the realistic sort – the type of person that went to university for law or medicine and became successful, knowledgeable on things that the rest of the world found good and useful. _

_ Baekhyun was the sort that had adoptive parents who encouraged him to chase after the things that he loved in life. And a portion of that was following the phases of the moon and the push and pull of the tides – even if he was miles away from the sea. _

_ He enjoyed the energy it gave him when he learned those little pieces of information, like he was meant to know them somehow. His parents had always told him he was their little magic maker. Always their little well wisher, good luck charm. His father had always told him he could have sworn a stork or something had dropped him off, even though his parents had the documents to state that he had been adopted at a shelter. They still weren’t really his biological parents, but close enough to the real deal that he laughed along to their words, and loved them just the same. _

_ “I don’t expect you to do anything, Jun.” Baekhyun said, voice soft but eyes hard and siphoning off the feelings he was started to soldier beneath. He knew there was a sharp point in which he would need to back off, and let his body and mind do the rest of the calming down. But right now in that moment it was like two years of unspoken aggression was coming alive in Junmyeon and he would keep a still heart over it, letting him say what needed to be said. _

_ The other boy turned quickly and it was like a striking snake, that venom welling in his mouth visibly before he struck. Not physically though. Baekhyun wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on him if he thought something like that was going to happen. It was like time slowed down and he was seeing everything in slow-motion. Baekhyun watched as the words spilled like a slap from Junmyeon’s mouth, venom and hurt dripping from every word. _

_ “And so you expect to just stroll into my family house as if you don’t believe the things you do? What if my parents invite you to church with us, or if they ask what religion you follow and if you believe in a God. You know, they’ve asked questions about you before, when I mention I have a boyfriend at university. They ask if you’re anything like me. I had to lie last time, say that you were just taking a year off of school.” _

_ His own words are cut loose like a thin thread holding pearls. Each one drips to the floor, bounces a few times and then rolls to a silent stop. _

_ “I never asked you to lie about me.” Baekhyun would never ask someone to lie to their friends or family about who or what he is. The only thing he’s ever asked for is that the people he dates not to be selfish, and not to treat him like he was other. Turns out even asking for that is too much. _

 

It is like the world comes to a stand still when he thinks back to that time, toothpaste filling his mouth and creating a film on his tongue.

When Baekhyun hears a knock on his door, he blanks and rinses his mouth, wondering who it could be, and why they are standing at his door so early in the morning. Except he doesn’t know what time it is, and realizes then that his phone is still in his back pocket, off.

Sehun stands at the door a bit disgruntled, frown forming on his lips and brows furrowing as he steps past Baekhyun and into the small apartment. Sehun is huffing a bit as he always is from walking the long way to Baekhyun’s apartment-loft near the roof. It had been a pain in the ass to move all his things up here originally, and he knows it would be even worse when he was to move out, but they had at least installed an elevator in the building since originally moving in. 

Because even in an old building like this, he still lives in a city that never stops and that means the new owners will do anything to make the apartments more accessible – it means more money for them in the long run.

Baekhyun’s best friend still grows impatient with the metal beast, and prefers the stairs, enough of his complaints falling on not-so-deaf ears.

“You didn’t answer your phone.” Sehun says, body falling back on Baekhyun’s bed without a question on his lips, asking for permission.

In a large city like this, Baekhyun should have more friends than he does, but he supposes its due in part to the fact that he’s already dated half of the gay men in this city. Tinder is a devil contraption that he cannot find himself deleting for more than a few weeks. And it’s even how he met his best friend – because Sehun was too much of a brat for Baekhyun to imagine kissing, and too much like him for the two to start anything but friendship.

Sehun was the first person to see Baekhyun’s collection of crystals and stones, his potted plants, and the incense burning by the mirror. Well he wasn’t the first person, but he was the first to shrug at it and confess that he usually places his amethyst in a silk bag beneath his pillow for safekeeping.

Baekhyun keeps his near a geode of the same vibrancy near the small desk he has in the corner. He has never thought of keeping crystals beneath his pillows, but that is also in part due to the fact that he often twists and turns in bed and does not want to damage them. Either way – Sehun had been the first to see him as a real person. 

He creeps out of his own mind, taking his spot back at the sink in his bathroom while leaving the door open so he could still partially see Sehun lying against his bed. 

“I shut it off, that’s why.” 

Sehun knows immediately what that means, sitting up and crooking an eyebrow at Baekhyun before blowing out a loud sigh that has Baekhyun pausing in his morning routine.

“You should tell me when you’re going to the woods. One of these days some creeper is going to go in there after you and the cops are gonna find your body in some ditch off the coast a million miles away.” Even as dramatic as he is, Sehun has a point. It’s dangerous to go in there alone most nights. Past midnight and with barely more than a flashlight at his side. Baekhyun isn’t sure what it is about going into the woods with any sort of technology at his side, but it feels toxic, not right.

Like he is invading a precious space.

But he just shrugs away Sehun’s concerns and continues with his morning routine. Sehun comes here to his apartment most mornings so that the two can head down a few blocks to a comfy little coffee and tea spot. It is one of the few things that keeps Baekhyun rooted here in this city that bustles like it has a purpose. The tea is strong, the coffee not so much, but Sehun likes to ask for milk tea there and the couple running the shop have agreed that they will start making and selling it as long as Sehun works the morning shift on the days he has off of class.

The other boy has made a habit of bringing Baekhyun homemade muffins when he’s done with his shifts, only for the two to return to make whoever is working next make their favorite cravings.

It’s nearly one when they shuffle down there, Sehun having been off the clock only for an hour or so. Baekhyun has never understood why the boy wants to go back after he’s already finished a shift, but he doesn’t argue. Mostly because they never actually pay for their drinks, even if they leave hefty tips for those making them.

The owners treat Sehun like a grandson, and maybe he is a little bit. They’re getting up there in age and Sehun is bratty and spoiled enough in this bustling, messy city that the couple dote on him.

“You usually turn your phone back on when you get to your apartment.” Sehun muses, lips closing around the straw poking from his bubble milk tea, the strange purple color of it different than what the other boy normally gets. Baekhyun knows that it’s taro, but he was never really a fan of the sweet, off flavor. Not with how much milk and sugar is in there.

Instead he asks for black tea and is presented with a solitary white saucer with a chipped white mug settling in the center of it. He takes it gingerly in his hand and tries to imagine that Sehun isn’t still staring at him, waiting for a response to his question.

He shrugs after a while. “I forgot.”

They discuss other things, Baekhyun changing the subject a few times. He asks Sehun how his classes are going – asks him about the boy in his literature class that Sehun dubs “perfect in every way possible”, yet in the next half of a breath, says that he is overrated. Baekhyun has come to understand the other boy and knows when he likes someone.

Just as Sehun knows when Baekhyun is hiding something. 

“Something scared you last night, I can tell.” Sehun says, fingertip running through the slight condensation left on his plastic cup. Though Baekhyun prefers not to use plastic, Sehun knows it is a means to an end, and the least he can do is recycle it. Baekhyun watches him like a hawk, even as they leave.

Baekhyun grumbles as they leave the shop, Sehun waving to the teen currently behind the counter. He asks if he will tell the owners that he will be in tomorrow as well as he has off of class for exams. The teen nods halfheartedly, taking a young woman’s order at the counter. He barely pays any attention to Sehun’s request, but both know that the teen hears him.

“I wish you would stop falling into my aura. It makes me self conscious about what’s in there.” Baekhyun confesses, hand going to rub at the back of his neck and then glancing up at Sehun to see his friend’s reaction to the words. 

Sehun has never really made it a habit to fall into auras, and Baekhyun knows the other boy’s explanation for the sort of thing is just that it happens and that he has no control over it. Still, the feeling of someone’s eyes on him makes him squirm a little bit. It reminds him of that faint voice he heard in the woods, and wonders if it was just a dream or if it was all real.

The thought comes to his mind again of a spirit clinging to him, and a shiver runs down his spine.

Sehun snorts then, eyes falling on Baekhyun as they continue to walk down the street. He has a shift later that night at the library, but other than that the two usually just sit in Baekhyun’s room and listen to the music that is the cars passing by on the streets, and sometimes even the argued whispers of tenants in the floors below. 

“Not much of interest in there to begin with, Hyun.” Sehun says, legs kicking up as he jumps over a small puddle. “But you’re off, I know that much. I could sense it last night, but couldn’t exactly come barging into your apartment at 1am, now could I?” 

The words settle soft, yet tense between them as Baekhyun realizes just how in tune they actually are with one another. Sehun knows something is wrong, but he isn’t actually sure how to bring up the fact that he may have actually seen something - or someone - in the woods last night. On top of that, he knows Sehun would try to confine him to his apartment, or even have him stay up at his dorm if he thought Baekhyun was in danger of something. It had happened once before, when Junmyeon and he had broken up, but that felt like ages ago. And besides, Baekhyun was never in any real physical danger from Junmyeon. He was more a danger to himself at that point than anything else.

Something, aside from Sehun’s voice, settles deep in his mind and it’s like a memory unfolding as they climb the steps up to his loft. 

 

_ He is climbing the steps to the dais, Mother waiting for him as she usually does. His small hands are framed in the much larger hands of a guard his Mother trusts, but their faces do not hold smiles on this day. In fact, it is as if his Mother is meeting with a foreign diplomat or noble as she stares down at him. _

_ The guard releases his hand quickly, and when Baekhyun looks up, he can see the sadness swelling in the guards eyes. Something like that shouldn’t be so prevalent or even noticeable in any of their Elite, but he sees the emotion there and it springs to his eyes too before the guard takes a step off the dais and leaves son with Mother, alone. _

_ The throne room is large and without bodies in it, is has an eerie silence that Baekhyun does not like. He likes the chatter of the forest nymphs in their trees, and the naiads in their ponds and lakes. He likes the sound of the raucous birds that his parents hate, and he likes playing with the enchanted cat that grows into a large beast to protect him when strangers are announced in court. But he doesn’t like this quiet, and he doesn’t like the grave expression on his mother’s face. He especially does not like that Father is not here, as they are always together when it comes to him. They tell him little nothings when he is off to sleep, and they hold his hands together when he asks them to. _

_ But Father is not here and Mother has him sitting on her lap alone in the throne room. He fears what this means, and he is not often fearful. _

_ He has been alive long enough to know that there is something wrong coming - he can feel it in his small bones. Baekhyun is a child still compared to those in the rest of the Court. The Seelie stay young forever - that was what his Mother used to tell him so many times when he would ask why he was so small, so thin boned yet set with broad shoulders. He was almost out of his child years, but he still felt so different in comparison to others around the Court. _

_ There were not many other young Fae his age. _

_ “You’re to go away, Baekhyun.” his Mother confesses at one point in the silence, and it is like a mist of rain has surrounded them as she speaks up. There were stories of brutal, yet vivacious Queen Titania. Baekhyun has heard them for years now, all the various stories of his mother’s brutality. Not unlike that of Queen Mab, but it is the rage of Spring, whereas Queen Mab has the chill of winter.  _

_ Not many know that Titania has a softer, gentler side when it comes to her son. Especially when it comes to protecting him.  _

_ Before Baekhyun is able to ask his mother what she means, she settles a hand on his cheek and his mind goes blank. There is a single soft wind chime sounding in his head, his Mother’s words of apology, and then nothing.  _

_ He sees black. _

 

Baekhyun stumbles where he is walking up the steps, trying to catch onto something,  _ anything _ as he balances and tries to make sense of what he just saw. Sehun is there beside him immediately, brow furrowing in worry before he is scooping Baekhyun up and carrying him like it is nothing, opening the door to the lofted apartment with ease as he still balances Baekhyun in his arms.

Sehun is a good friend, Baekhyun notes. But as he thinks this, Sehun sets him on the bed and asks what the hell that was.

He isn’t even sure what to say, so he describes it as best he can, telling Sehun about the Queen and how he referred to her as his mother in the memory. If it even is a memory. Maybe he’s been reading too much, or maybe Sehun’s been clouding his mind with all the games he plays whenever Baekhyun is over at the dorm. 

He doesn’t know what it is, but he wants to get to the bottom of it. His lovely friend blanches though.

“What are doing in those woods these days, taking drugs?” but Sehun, though joking for half a second, is completely serious in the next. “This has to do with the woods though, doesn’t it? Something scared you, and now you’re having these hallucinations, thinking you’re related to Shakespeare’s bitch Queen. Next you’ll tell me that you’ve fallen in love with a donkey.”

Baekhyun narrows his eyes on his best friend before reaching for his crystal quartz by the edge of the bed, on the windowsill to the left. When it touches his skin it is like the negative energy is lifted straight from him and absorbed into the crystal. With all the negative energy out-balancing the good and positive over the last twenty-four hours, Baekhyun makes a mental note to cleanse them later.

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Baekhyun says truthfully. Because really, he doesn't. This is as new to him as it is to Sehun. He almost wants to step back into that memory though, find out what happened after that and what Titania had done to him. The whole thing is driving him a bit wild - the answers unsure and his thoughts scattered…

The two come to the decision that Baekhyun needs sleep, and so Sehun leaves his apartment - but not without plugging Baekhyun’s phone into the closest outlet and making a comment that Baekhyun better answer it even if he’s dying. There’s soft laughter between them, but Baekhyun thanks his friend before he leaves, knowing he just cares for him. 

His shift at the library later that evening seems like it might either be a good distraction, or even stranger than it usually is.

 

_ Baekhyun wasn’t old enough to grow wings like everyone else. Too young, his mother had told him. He would grow them in time, she had promised him, but it wasn’t soon enough. Not when he saw the gleaming and the brilliance whenever he attended Court with his parents at his side.  _

_ Mother had glittering, transparent wings. Large and iridescent, he longed to have some of his own. When she explained to him that not all wings were the same, and that some even had the ability to change the appearance of their wings, she stood before him and flashed like a lightning bolt, the smell of spring erupting in the room like a cascade of fragrant petals surrounding him. In the next second, Mother was standing before him with wings like that of a dove. White, though slightly grey speckled beneath the feathers at the bottom. Her wingspan even larger than it had been when she had the transparent wings. Baekhyun stared up at his mother in awe, wanting more his own wings. _

_ “Soon, my flower.” Mother whispered to him, stroking a hand against his cheek before leaning in to kiss his forehead, “Very soon.” _

 

Baekhyun wakes from his nap with a throbbing head and a chill surrounding his body, making him shiver. He remembers Sehun opening the window prior to leaving, a comment on how stuffy the room is made as his friend leaves. 

Getting up, he closes the window quietly, running a hand through his hair and wondering if he actually remembers the dream correctly or if he’s seriously hallucinating all of this. He doesn’t remember the last time he read Midsummer’s Night Dream, but it has to have been years ago now. He isn’t sure if that’s really what it is, but it’s the only thing he can think of since Sehun mentioned it, and maybe he just needs to take his mind off of all of this.

Or maybe he needs to do some research on hallucinations in regards to imagining oneself as the son of an imaginary faerie Queen. 

Yeah, he’s most definitely losing it. 

Baekhyun readies himself for the six hour closing shift he has at the city’s library. It pays the bills (sometimes), and it gives him free reign of the shelves to read as much as he wants. His adoptive parents had always encouraged reading when he was younger, and he was already so advanced in so much developmental wise when they took him in that it hadn’t been an issue growing up, reading all of the older, more advanced books. 

When he arrives, he’s one of the few employees working tonight. Even in a busy city, the library doesn’t get much traffic. They aren’t a touristic spot, not during this time of year at least, and there are two other libraries at the university just up the street. There are a few students hustled around computers, probably some of the locals that live in apartments closer to this library than the ones at their school. Other than that, it’s quaint and quiet. Baekhyun clocks in before going to scour the shelves for a book to read for the rest of his shift.

What he finds - and what he believes may answer some questions, or maybe just confuse him further - is an anthology on folklore and irish legends. It’s a start to say the least, and he skims the book to find the part about the Queen of Fae, also known as the Seelie Queen.

There’s mention of another Queen, and Baekhyun remembers briefly of that other Queen, Queen Mab. A flash of an image enters his mind and he’s shuddering in the next second, something that seems to be happening more often than not in the past day or so. He’s never felt so cold, like the Queen herself is wrapping him up in frost.

The image that pops up into his head is not as frightening as he would imagine when thinking about the Unseelie Queen. In fact, the memory of her (if it is in fact a memory) tells of her beauty. Though her hair is black rivulets falling framed around her face, it falls like water against her shoulders. Rather than frosted as Baekhyun would have imagined, she sits in his memory like she is cradled before a fireplace. 

He puts the image of Mab next to his memory of Titania - his mother - and he can see the differences very clearly. Titania has a certain warmth to her, her hair pulled up and falling down like a waterfall at her back. Mab on the other hand has her hair falling across her chest and shoulders, letting it amass itself in heeps against her body. It is wild and uncontrollable, and like a frigid storm, everywhere all at once.

More than that though, he can remember Titania’s large gleaming wings and how translucent they are. It’s how the Seelie Queen wants to present herself. On the other hand, Baekhyun cannot actually remember seeing the Unseelie Queen’s wings, and is not sure if this is because she is Unseelie, or if his memory-hallucinations are just not that specific yet. There has only been three instances now that he has experienced this jolt back to whatever images and memories have been kept hidden in his head for for the past however many years. 

“Excuse me?” 

Baekhyun looks up from the book in his lap and notices that someone new has come into the library. Not hearing the door, he wonders how absorbed he must look sitting there with his nose in a book, not paying attention to anyone around him. 

Not the best librarian, he has to admit.

“Hello, how can I help you?” he hopes that the boy is only looking to check out a book or to know where a section of the library is. 

The boy stands there for a moment, almost like he is awestruck, but then he is smiling and it is one of the most beautiful things Baekhyun has seen. It’s a gummy smile, but genuine and lined with clearly whitened teeth. He doesn’t stutter when he asks his next question, and he sounds almost regal when he asks it.

“Would you mind assisting me with one of the computers?” and the way he says it makes it seem as the boy has never used a computer in his life. There’s a slight accent to his voice, but it’s faint enough that Baekhyun believes he must just be hearing things. 

He sets his book down, grabbing a random book slip to hold his place, as he walks around the bend of the front desk and nods for the boy to follow after him. Baekhyun is maybe an inch or two taller than he is, but other than that they’re mostly the same height. The other boy has a smaller build than he does, small shoulders in the very least, but as Baekhyun’s eyes roam the stranger he can tell that there is more than meets the eye beneath his grey, fitted suit jacket. 

“Here we are.” Baekhyun says when they reach the computers, plugged into the walls by the side of the library. They’re run on an older system than what the university has up the street, but Baekhyun feels almost comfortable with them. 

Even if he would prefer not to have to deal with them at all. Just his phone is enough of a hassle. Not that he isn’t used to the constant buzzing and alerts. He knows how to turn them off, and most of the time it's set to vibrating. But it’s still not his favorite pastime, looking at a phone or computer. 

He wonders why that is - and the idea springs to mind that maybe he really is the son of a Faerie Queen, but he silences that thought before it has time to run wild, and turns back to the stranger.

“Is there something specific you needed help with?” and he cocks an eyebrow at the stranger as he just stands there, as if he’s waiting for Baekhyun to turn the thing on, or work some sort of magic on it.

The stranger blinks, as if he doesn’t realize Baekhyun is speaking to him, and then there is that lilt in his voice again, distracting Baekhyun as he speaks. 

“Just wanted to let an old friend know that I was here safe. I haven’t the chance to purchase a phone quiet yet, but want to make sure my friend knows I’m safe. Wouldn’t want them to worry.” the lilt in the boy’s voice is unmistakable now, but Baekhyun can’t place it. It sounds almost like he’s heard it before, but can’t place from where.

“Okay.” he murmurs then, taking a step back and nodding toward the computers before the two of them, unsure how he can assist further, “I’ll leave you to it then, let me know if you need help with anything else.”

The stranger nods, though it seems almost noncommittal at this point as he settles down into the chair. Baekhyun isn’t sure if it’s because the stranger truly doesn’t know how to use a computer or if it’s because Baekhyun just hasn’t been himself the last day and everything around him is starting to make him question himself.

Regardless of those feelings, he still settles down into his chair behind the librarian’s desk a moment later, picking his book back up and delving deeper into the pages. With reading comes another memory - or what he has now assumed are memories.

 

_ “The Unseelie Queen has a son about your age.” Titania started, and Baekhyun looked up from his reading to glance at his mother. She did not say anything further, which made Baekhyun believe she wouldn’t, until she started up again with a thin scowl adorning her bright, thin face. _

_ The Queen of Spring, the Seelie Queen, was known for many things, Baekhyun knew. Even as a child he knew that. His father said as much, told stories of how long ago his mother had come to rule this kingdom and be called sole Queen of the Fae. Until darkness and frost had spread upon half of Faerie and the Queen of the Unseelie had been born. Terrifying and cold as ice, some had called her Mother Darkness. Others called her Death.  _

_ Baekhyun had trembled at the stories his father told him, Oberon only going so far as to pat his son’s head to try to comfort him. His father had told him that a Prince of the Spring Court must never be afraid of Winter, not even when it threatened all that he was, and all that he ever would be. _

_ For Spring had come first, and was more powerful than darkness. For theirs was a light that nothing compared. Baekhyun smiled to himself at remembering his father’s words, and listened intently then to his mother as well. _

_ “Mab’s sons and daughters, just like she once was, are born of frost and shadows. They call to them a darkness like no other Fae possesses, and a fear clings to their skin like sunlight does to ours.” the Queen looked down at her son, could see the terror masked thinly in Baekhyun’s eyes and was not hesitant then to drag him to her, skin touching so as to comfort. She weaved hands through his blond hair, the light catching on the strawberry tint to it, and then leaned in to kiss her son’s forehead. “You must remember that our light belongs solely to us, my son. Keep yours safe.” _

 

Baekhyun glances up once he is free of the memory and knows that this is no laughing matter anymore. It is real and he knows that somehow he came to this world from Faerie. Stolen away from his real parents, maybe? Or placed here, being sent away like Titania said in that first flash of a memory. He wants to believe that there was a reason for it, if they sent him away, but he also isn’t exactly sure what to believe at this point.

Half-memories that tell him his parents were loving, yet harsh? Humans were like that too, though. He could maybe believe that. But the next question that sprung to mind was did his adoptive parents know?

Really how could they? The paperwork said they adopted him from a shelter. And it’s not like the shelter would know why he was dropped off there, or that he was from Faerie. Truly, how could humans even pick up on such things? Baekhyun certainly is having a hard time pinpointing every missing piece of this puzzle. He only has about 10 pieces total.

It seems like the puzzle is 5000 pieces strong with how slowly he’s going.

“Excuse me?” the stranger from before interrupts his thoughts for the second time, lilt heavy now, “The computer shut off?” and Baekhyun glances over to the wall to see the computer has very well shut off completely. Not just the normal sleep mode or log off that it normally does when time has run out on a session. The boy must have hit the plug or done something to it.

So Baekhyun walks to the other end of the room, some of the other students nodding their heads at him as they leave the library for the night. It is one by one that they leave, but eventually, as Baekhyun tries to figure out what the hell the boy did to the computer, they are left as the only two in the library, with closing only an hour or so away.

The folklore book he borrowed earlier is left sitting there on the computer desk for the boy to ask questions about.

“Are you a student at the university?” he asks.

Baekhyun shakes his head, brows furrowing at the cables and wondering why the hell the computer isn’t turning back on after a hard reset and plugging all the things back into their outlets.

“Not at that university, but I used to be a student. That’s kind of the reason why I’m out here though, more than just to get away from my parents house. After my second year of school I decided I didn’t care enough about academics.” but he shook his head, not using the right words, “No, it wasn’t really that I didn’t care. I need to be challenged?” and he says it like a question, “Not to sound stuck up, or holy-than-thou, but the classes just weren’t challenging enough. I sat in on a senior level course during my second year, level 500 Behavioral Ecology. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t already learned on my own. I sat through the entire course that semester, did the homework that the professor assigned, and he even petitioned the board to give me the credits even though I hadn’t paid my way for the course.” 

The stranger’s brows shoot up in what Baekhyun thinks is disbelief, “Did they give the credits to you?” he asks.

And Baekhyun smiles, the computer now left forgotten - and also a lost cause it seems - “They did, but in the end, I don’t think it even mattered. My parents were excited to hear about it, even though when I came home that summer I told them I would be dropping out of school and pursuing a career in being a worldwide traveler.” Baekhyun almost doubles over laughing at his own words, “The thing is they supported such a dumb idea. They have told me my entire life that I can be or do whatever I want, that it’s solely up to me, and then they just let me go.”

There is silence for a little while between them, and Baekhyun isn’t really sure how he got off on this tangent or why he’s telling a complete stranger about his past and family. It’s not like he knows him from Adam. Still, it’s almost a comfort to sit there and talk about it. 

Baekhyun clearly doesn’t get out much if this is comforting to him.

“Sorry.” he says then, clearing his thoughts and looking at the time. He has spent now half an hour trying to fix the computer, but also talking to this stranger - of whom he doesn’t know the name. It feels silly to ask though, and so he instead introduces himself, hoping this will spring forward an introduction on the stranger’s end, “My name is Baekhyun. I should probably close the place down soon. Sorry again about the computer, I’ll call the IT people about it in the morning.”

The stranger doesn’t seem at all perturbed about the computer, like it hasn’t affected him at all.

“I hope I haven’t caused too much trouble, though thank you for trying. I’m a tad technologically inept. My name is Minseok, by the way.” and the lilt is still there when he speaks, but there is a calmness about him now that Baekhyun tries to tap into. He isn’t sure how to read it though, never really good at reading auras like Sehun is.

They both stand there for a little while before Minseok turns and picks up Baekhyun’s book, handing it back to him, their fingertips touching for a moment.

“Must be a good book, you barely wanted to put it down.” 

But when their fingers touch, if only briefly, Baekhyun feels a wave of something and his hand immediately goes to his throat, where he keeps the oval shaped garnet on a chain under his shirt. It’s a small bulge in the outline of his clothing, and barely noticeable to anyone else. But it brings him serenity and seems to warm him when he feels a chill.

The feeling is only there for a moment before it is gone again, and perhaps he’s just seeing or feeling things that aren’t there at this point. He feels a more troubling pull to go back to the woods he has called a second home in the past three or four years since he moved to this city, but knows he should probably ask Sehun to tag along the next time he goes anywhere near it.

Baekhyun pulls away, taking the book and laughing half-heartedly at Minseok’s comment. 

“It is,” he starts, and like that he sees Minseok packing his belongings, noticing that there is a book, or a journal really, among his things. It is leather bound and looks like many of its pages have been filled past capacity, the pages rough and with uneven edges. Baekhyun wonders if its more the style of the notebook or if its handmade. But he doesn’t have enough time to ask before Minseok is nodding his head and saying farewell.

“Nice to meet you.” he says as he heads out the door, “Maybe we’ll see one another again soon.”

Baekhyun watches as the not-so-stranger leaves, the library doors closing behind him and the soft light pooling above Baekhyun’s head. It startles him that as Minseok leaves, door closing eerily loud behind him, the computer springs to life and sputters, as if it had been sitting there slowly suffocating itself. 

“What the - .” but he doesn’t say a word more, shaking his head.

Some things he just doesn’t want or need an explanation for…

 

The following week passes them by when he has his next memory, standing in front of the fruit stand at the grocery store, Sehun a few feet away yelling to ask him if he’s ever had dragonfruit before and if Baekhyun knows what it tastes like.

It catches him off guard, because it seemingly has no trigger at all. But suddenly he’s swept up in it, trying to hold his balance at the edge of a carton of apples.

 

_ A mist had fallen on Spring that morning, and Baekhyun had woken to a tickle at his feet. When he had looked up, spying the beast at the foot of his bed, he had grinned and kicked his feet out, jostling the striped cat that sat perched like it was royalty. _

_ The beast’s name sprang to his lips as he jumped up from the downy mattress, “Jongdae!”  _

_ Baekhyun remembered how many times Jongdae had sat perched by his feet, or had stood guard at his side. Not assigned by his mother or father, the beast had simply taken a liking to the young Prince of Spring since he was a child. Jongdae was not aligned as Seelie or Unseelie, Baekhyun knew, and it was made evident in the fact that the beast Jongdae could go where he wanted. _

_ Whereas Baekhyun was forbidden from going too close to Winter’s border. The border held terrible, terrible things, Titania convinced her son. However, when he had asked Jongdae what lay near the border, his friend, protector, and co-conspirator had grinned slyly. _

_ “Creatures you could never even imagine, and a feeling that belongs neither to Spring or Winter remains on the border. If you ever get a chance to get close, stand on the line and imagine that you’re in the human realm.” but then Jongdae’s eyes had widened at the time as he had described the feeling, amending his statement, “No, no you wouldn’t know that feeling yet. It’s like this - warm winds blowing from the south, and cold rain coming from the north. Flowers blooming in one instance, but then frosting over or wilting in the next.” the cat had grinned once more and then had shrugged, like in the next second it hadn’t mattered. _

_ The cat’s words peeled away in his mind to what Baekhyun heard in that new moment, upon waking. Jongdae evolved from the bedside cat to the growing beast as his words gleaned between them now. _

_ “You’re in for a treat, young Prince,” the beast promised, “Mab is bringing her son to Court.” _

 

Baekhyun pulls out of that memory just as he’s falling back in the aisle, a hand going to his back to keep him upright as he falls, regaining his balance moments later. His eyes glance up to see the last person he would have expected to come to his rescue, and he feels embarrassed that the boy from the library is there to see him lose all balance and coordination while at the supermarket.

Good on his feet now, Baekhyun apologizes to Minseok.

“There’s no need to apologize. Are you okay? You didn’t look well for a moment.” but before Baekhyun is able to say a word, Sehun comes over, still talking about what dragonfruit could possibly taste like, and wondering if it tastes spicy because it has the word dragon in it, or is it sweet because it’s a fruit?

“Oh.” Sehun begins, eyes going to Baekhyun’s as he takes in the new person standing before both of them, hand still very close to Baekhyun’s back as if he might fall over again.

To be honest, Baekhyun wouldn’t exactly be surprised if he did.

Minseok is introducing himself to the new addition in the next second, “Sorry, my name is Minseok. I’m new to town, just arrived last week.” 

Baekhyun can tell in no more than five seconds that Sehun is falling purposefully into Minseok’s aura and trying to read him and his expression. There is little to go off of though, as this is their first time meeting one another. Sehun has always told Baekhyun that he can only see glimpses of auras of those he first meets, without knowing anything about them. An aura is supposed to build when two people get closer to one another, and then Sehun can see deeper, further.

Sehun’s nose scrunches up as he leans back against Baekhyun’s body.

“I’m Sehun.” his answer and own greeting is short and to the point, especially as he asks the next question, “How do you two know each other?”

Minseok is the one to explain, saying he had met Baekhyun last week at the library, and had ruined one of the computers, also adding in that he hoped the IT people were able to come and fix whatever he had done to the poor thing. There is still that lilt in his voice and Baekhyun has this never ending feeling like he’s heard it before, or knows Minseok from somewhere.

How awkward would it be though, Baekhyun thinks, if he had seen the boy on Tinder at one point. But Minseok did just say he’s only recently gotten into town and Baekhyun tries to clear his mind of the potential awkwardness that may occur if he actually brings up the fact that he believes the two have met before.

Would that come across as creepy, or some sort of pick up line? 

“Well we have plans to do laundry and finish our grocery shopping for the week.” Sehun’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts, and so does Sehun’s arm looping through his, pulling Baekhyun’s body closer to his and making Minseok drop the hand that is extended toward Baekhyun’s body, like an offering. It makes him feel something in his veins, as if something is sparking to life that has been left dormant for a while.

Like the memories constantly propelling him forward and back. 

Sehun knows about the memories, and Baekhyun is sure to divulge as much information as he can to his friend about them, hoping it will help him figure out if all of this is real, and if so, why his real parents left him in this world to fend for himself. Alone.

It just doesn’t make any sense to him.

Minseok nods knowingly, as if catching onto Sehun’s nonverbal “we don’t want you here”, but he remains firm in his next sentence, offering up a slip of paper to Baekhyun.

“I know you were looking into some Irish legends and folklore at the library the last time, so if you need any help with a project you’re working on, I majored in Irish literature and history. I know quite a bit about it all.” the slip of paper now in his hands is a number, as well as a name, as if Baekhyun would have forgotten what it is.

“Uh, thank you.” and he’s not really sure what else to say. He doesn’t know if he can trust this stranger - who’s just barely a stranger at this point. But really, besides that maybe having an outside perspective on just the idea that something like this could happen to someone is a good idea. Sehun won’t like it, but it is Baekhyun going through the whole thing. 

When it is just the two of them left behind, Minseok going off towards the dairy aisle, Sehun looks at him pointedly.

“What?” but he doesn’t need to ask to know what Sehun is going to say, or to know the next thing Sehun is going to do - roll his eyes. Because to Sehun it’s just another handsome guy that has walked into Baekhyun’s life amidst trouble and confusion, just like what happened last time with Junmyeon. The two of them had been friends no more than a few months when Junmyeon had walked into Baekhyun’s life, and it had been amidst Baekhyun getting kicked out of his previous apartment and fighting to keep his things in storage, while going back and forth between Sehun’s dorm room and trying to not get caught by the university police, because he wasn’t a student.

Baekhyun is secure now though, and he pushes off and out of Sehun’s reach, scowling as best he can, but coming out as more of a pout than anything else.

Sehun shrugs, “I’m just saying be careful is all, with everything going on. You don’t know who to trust, especially if all of this is true.”

He does have a point, but Baekhyun ignores him, “Let’s just get the shopping done with, okay?” and he continues on through the store, avoiding eye contact with Sehun, but also trying to keep an eye out for the troubling, mystery boy with the soft accent that has blown in like a storm into town.

It has Baekhyun both intrigued and cautious. One winning out over the other.

 

With each passing week, there are more and more memories springing to the surface, and Baekhyun believes that he’s been able to connect some of the dots, maybe even align some of the puzzle pieces so they create half of a masterpiece.

Except it’s his past, not a piece of artwork, and he’s getting more stressed out the more he thinks about it. 

Minseok and Sehun have been helping though, and despite the fact that Baekhyun has not told Minseok more concrete details than theoreticals and thoughts, he has been a big help in pinpointing the spark behind all of this, and why it might be happening.

Hypothetically, of course.

“Has something big happened in this person’s life to cause this?” Minseok asks, the two of them spread out on a library table with books and old tomes that Baekhyun never really realized were in this library. Minseok has been a miracle worker over the past two weeks, and he considers the boy a friend at this point. Or on the road to becoming one.

“I don’t know. I mean, we’ve been over the details right? This...person can’t go more than a few days without having these visions. It’s like they’re remembering things from their past, but they aren’t sure if it’s just suppressed memories, or if they’re making it all up as they go.” Baekhyun tries hard not to out himself or make Minseok believe that he’s talking about himself. As it is, the conversation is odd to have in the first place.

The other boy nods, as if in understanding, “This happened a lot in old times. Although, most people blamed it on the supernatural and gods. Not a long shot though. Even the Christians believe they have visions of their god, no?” and Baekhyun nods in reply, “Maybe it’s like that. Whoever took the memories is releasing them back, or something triggered the memories to break out of the mold, to come to the forefront of this person’s mind. Can you tell me what type of visions they are?”

At this point, Baekhyun isn’t really sure how to do that without releasing the fact that the visions and memories are his own. He tries.

“They’re like...quick little things. Some are longer than others, but most occur in a span of a few minutes. It’s like those scenes in movies where the person’s life flashes before their eyes on an old film set up. Except there is only one scroll of film and then it’s gone.” Baekhyun isn’t even sure he’s describing it right, and his fingers linger longer on the garnet at his throat as he speaks then it usually does. He’s nervous and needs to feel that sort of warmth that comes with touching the stone. He almost wishes he was back at his apartment so he could burn some summer-grown citronella incense, the almost lemon scent of it more than just good to ward off bugs and other nuisances, but also good in protecting oneself, for cleansing and for warding off negative, evil energy.

Seeing as he had a memory of Mab that very morning, he’s itching to run home and do just that.

Minseok can tell that he’s nervous, or at the very least that something is on his mind. So the boy asks him, “Is something other than all of this bothering you? It can’t be exams coming up, right? You did say you weren’t studying at the university.”

He shakes his head and decides to come up with only a half-assed response, a partial truth, “A headache, that’s it. And no, this is a project I’m researching all on my own. I don’t think I’ve gotten enough sleep lately, either.” and the last bit is true, because he remembers waking in the middle of the night from a sound sleep after a memory of a war being waged in Faerie. It didn’t seem to be completely a memory, however.

It felt more like a warning, telling Baekhyun something is on the horizon.

The other boy nods, understanding, before he’s packing up the books and returning them to their nearby shelves. He keeps a few of them on the table, however, and nudges them towards Baekhyun when he returns to his side.

“I think you should read these. They’re fiction, but sometimes the authors get them right.” Minseok shrugs before pointing at the door, “I can walk you back to your apartment at the end of your shift too, if you want.” and that’s when Baekhyun realizes that his mid-afternoon shift has actually already ended - about twenty minutes before- and that Minseok’s offer is tempting enough to take.

“Thanks, I think that might be a good idea.” and so they both pack up their things, heading out of the library as Baekhyun punches a time card and waves briefly at the only other employee sitting behind the desk. Do Kyungsoo, who barely even notices that Baekhyun is leaving…

 

The walk to his apartment is slow, but significant enough that he finally learns how old Minseok is, having not thought to ask in the last few weeks. They’ve become something like friends.

“I’m twenty-seven. You?”

Baekhyun shoulders his bag higher up his back as he answers, “Twenty-five.” He has been out of school for five years, and out of anything close to a decent relationship for two. He has been living in this city for three years, and having these visions and memories for three weeks. 

He was eight when he was adopted, and now seventeen years later he’s finding out who his real parents are. Supposedly. That’s really if this land called Faerie actually exists. If all the stories he’s read are true, if Queen Titania and King Oberon are real.

And if he’s not just letting his head try to get the best of him. And royally screw him up.

When they reach the apartment, Minseok opts to take the stairs and so Baekhyun follows him. Ten flights of stairs, and one of the smallest buildings in the city, but one that Baekhyun has grown attached to. When he brandishes the key to his lofted apartment, he isn’t really hesitant anymore to show Minseok his space. 

Nor is he to go immediately to the incense burner by the mirror and turn to ask the boy if he’s allergic to anything.

Minseok shakes his head, all the while watching Baekhyun work his way through the constant steps of actually lighting the incense. It’s sacred to him, and has been ever since he took up an interest in ecology when he was in school. Although crystals and burning incense have little to do with ecology, it was a sort of gateway into the other. The different plants and their uses, but also what they’re supposed to mean and remain helpful with. The drawer that holds his incense is flooded with a mixture of scents, and he’s quickly bombarded with them all, their calming effects already working wonders on him.

Baekhyun opens the window enough so as not to blow out the burn, but enough so as his apartment is not filled with the grey powdered smoke that follows burning the citronella. He catches Minseok wrinkling his nose in the corner at the smell, but it’s almost cute the way he does it.

“Is the smell bothering you? Sorry this is what relieves my headaches.” he isn’t lying here, not even giving a partial truth. It does clear away the pressure in his head that has been there for the past few weeks and it is a relief to not feel a dizzy spell on the way through his body.

“Just have to get used to smell is all. Don’t usually burn our plants where I’m from.” and there is an undertone to Minseok’s voice that makes Baekhyun only that much more curious about where exactly Minseok is from. Because he never really shared much about that. All that they had been talking about the last week or so is stories and various mythologies each of them knew about this or that mythical creature. With the lilt in his voice, Baekhyun could believe that he’s from a remote part of Ireland, but it’s not heavy enough, and he can’t be sure, but it isn’t almost like anything he’s ever heard before.

And just as he’s about to ask where Minseok is from, he’s struck with a memory that shatters him like glass.

 

_ “You must be on your best behavior.” Mother said, tone close to volatile, yet sweet at the same time. Baekhyun stood there without breathing for a while, Mother and Father standing before him in their finery and Jongdae standing off to the side, fur bristling as he watched the King, Queen, and Prince.  _

_ Baekhyun is supposed to be meeting Queen Mab’s son, Jongdae said. His mother had said the same, warning him that the Winter Court liked to play tricks and create diversions while they stole goods and precious things from Spring. _

_ Father had warned Baekhyun that his brother had gone missing that way when he was a babe, a few hundred years before Baekhyun was even born. _

_ “Your mother was devastated, tried to reason with Mab that there was no real reason to keep the child other than to get back at your mother for things she had done and said in the past. The Winter Queen had been adamant though, thought it was fair enough. That your mother should lose a son while Mab had lost a daughter.” Baekhyun’s father had a hard, steely gaze in his eyes when telling him the story. Baekhyun had peered up at his father to ask a question. _

_ “How did Mab lose her daughter? And why was it Mother’s fault?” _

_ Oberon had shaken his head before laying a hand on his son’s shoulder, strength set in his body like that of a true King. Baekhyun wondered how long his father had been standing at his mother’s side, ruling Faerie together. _

_ “She ventured past the border of Winter, into Spring. It was not the change that had killed her though, as we can pass between the border without harm. It is what remained on the other side that killed her. Your mother will never admit this, so do not let her know I told you. But Mab’s daughter loved one of your sisters, our daughter. It all happened a century before Mab kidnapped our son, but it was enough time for the wound of such a thing to fester in Mab’s heart. There must always be a balance in this realm, Baekhyun.” Oberon paused, “Just as there must be balance now. Mab has a child, and now so do we.” _

_ Baekhyun had not really understood what his father was saying, and there were other questions flitting in his head when he heard those stories. But even as he thought of them then, with the arrival of Mab and her Court, and most importantly her son, he wondered why Spring and Winter had such a rivalry in the first place, and why balance was needed. Hadn’t his mother ruled Faerie just fine before the Queen of Darkness sprung from nothing? _

_ Surely there had been a catalyst.  _

_ Even as a child, Baekhyun knew there had to be something that had caused it. There was something bringing Mab here now, and there was an importance to it that he would see later on.  _

_ Trumpets sounded then in the Great Hall, lesser fae masking their faces with their hands of branches and thorns. Wings and tails flipped up and there were some even that stood enraged and angry as they witnessed the Winter troupe fall into the Court. There were higher Spring fae that just stood without a sound or word, eyes on every movement the Winter fae made.  _

_ Baekhyun couldn’t take his eyes off of Mab though, as if he was lost in her. _

_ Black as pitch was her hair, and it fell in bunches like he had never seen before. It was a rough image that he set his eyes on, but still bespoke of beauty - and danger. Baekhyun witnessed fae bowing before the Queen, even though they were from his own Court. It was like they were all in a trance. Even Jongdae at his side was speechless, his howls and hissing turned to a soft mewl as he etched up closer to the Prince, protecting him. _

_ “Mab.” his mother’s voice started, making the Winter Queen’s party halt where they were, close enough for comfort to the dais that the four stood upon. The Elite - Spring fae that posed as guards and guardians for the Spring Queen and her son - held fast to their positions, not letting anyone come closer.  _

_ That was until the one some fae called Death herself came forward and laughed a greeting. It was like a shard of ice being raked down Baekhyun’s spine.  _

_ “Oh, Titania, this is hardly the warm welcome I would have imagined from the Queen of Spring. Perhaps you should be the Queen of Winter, and I take up the mantle of Spring. We should switch every few century, no?” but the ice cold laughter and silence from Mab’s people told of the reality of all of this. Mab had earned her title. Baekhyun stood silent, watching. Until that is, his eyes found a boy about his age standing firm behind the dark Queen.  _

_ His face was crystalline, like it had been carved from ice itself. He was paler than Baekhyun too, and he wondered if it was because of belonging to Winter or some other reason. The boy stood ram-straight, like his life depended on it, but when he glanced up to see Baekhyun staring at him, he  smiled. _

_ A toothy, gummy smile that seemed like it could melt snow and frost, and didn’t seem as cold as the Queen’s dangerous gleaned smile. In fact, it seemed almost welcoming. _

_ Baekhyun paused in staring at the other boy, when he heard his mother step forward, bare feet against the floor and dress pooling like a sunlight-warmed river around her body. Her Court buzzed and moved and shook, all waiting for their Queen to do something substantial. Baekhyun hoped that his mother didn’t harm the Winter boy. He wanted to know his name. _

_ “And I see you’ve brought your son with you.” his mother raised a hand to the air and a soft ball of light formed within her palm. Queen of Darkness, Mab had been called. Titania must have been the Queen of Light, then. _

_ The small ball fled from his mother’s hand, but did not harm anyone or anything as it fled slow between the gathering fae, searching for something specific. Baekhyun watched the light until it found its target.  _

_ The Winter boy. _

_ “Introduce him, why don’t you?” the Spring Queen cocked an eyebrow at the Winter Queen. It was with a bit of aggression and irritation that Mab actually turned and raised a hand for shadows to attempt in swallowing the ball of light Titania had created.  _

_ The small thing disappeared, like a cat playing with a mouse, before the darkness swelled and got the chance overtake it. Agitated still of this game they seemed to be playing, Mab brought her son forward and introduced him to the Court, the first time his name was heard among the Spring fae. _

_ “My youngest, Minseok.” _

 

Baekhyun comes to from the memory and it does indeed shatter his entire being like glass. His body goes still and his eyes fall on Minseok across the room, hands going to hover over crystals meant to protect and shield him. He’s torn. 

“Who the hell - .” but Baekhyun cannot even finish his sentence before Minseok is turning and revealing exactly who he is. 

It is like a curtain falls away when Minseok reveals himself. All that his memories have shown him the last three weeks, and the magic that he has always wanted to be real. Baekhyun watches intently as it all falls away and then into place like it had been there all along.

Minseok appears to be clothed in this fine, rich cloth. It is like starlight and darkness, but it is a gleaming, comforting darkness that Baekhyun can see himself falling into willingly. He has always known, even before all of this that there is a darkness that heals, and a darkness that torments. The way Minseok carries himself, and the offset of the magic pulsing through the room, awakening something even in Baekhyun, he knows it is the former rather than the latter.

It is nothing like he could have imagined though, and he finds himself close to tears as he witnesses all of this. 

“I can explain everything you’ve been feeling, everything that you’ve seen, and more.” Minseok starts, hair the same dark black as before, only now with dark frosted blue like running rivers between the strands. When he outstretches a hand toward Baekhyun, there are crystal-like snowdrops on the tips of his fingers.

It all feels very surreal, just looking at him.

Minseok is a faerie. But...so is he.

“Explain. Now.” Baekhyun manages to get out, and he wonders briefly if Junmyeon would have ever been able to approve of him had either of them known of this truth at the time.

He honestly doesn’t think it would have even lasted as long as it did had either of them known.

Minseok dives into an explanation then, connecting more of the puzzle pieces left lost to Baekhyun. There are still pieces missing, but the things Minseok says are enough that he can see the picture the pieces were trying to give him.

And his dream that seemed more warning from that morning is evidently real and very much present. It is not a memory, but his body trying to tell him there is something much more going on than just his body and mind remembering bits and pieces of his past in Faerie.

“There is a war settling on the horizon, just as it does every few centuries between our parents. Titania blames my mother for having to send you away, and Mab still holds a grudge against your mother for letting their daughters fall for one another and sacrifice themselves for the sake of balance.” there is that word again - balance. Baekhyun didn’t understand it when his father brought it up so many years ago, but he can understand it slightly now, when Minseok brings up an oncoming war.

Baekhyun is Prince of Spring, Minseok is Prince of Winter. 

There is a balance solely within those two mirrored facts. It is likely why his mother and Mab are on the verge of war. Faerie lacks the necessary balance.

The word is like a beacon calling him to Faerie, back to his biological parents. And there is a warmth, as well that pools in his stomach like an ache waiting to seize his whole being. Baekhyun wonders if he has the ability to peel the curtain away from himself just as Minseok has just done, revealing his truth and affinities that once belonged to him in Faerie. The memories aren’t all there, not yet, but he can remember the ability to create light like his mother. Small little rays of light that he would let Jongdae trace and track in the forests surrounding their Spring palace.

Baekhyun wonders if Jongdae will remember who he is…

“Come with me to Faerie.” Minseok says then, taking Baekhyun from his overflowing thoughts.

“You’re actually kidding.” Baekhyun says, words falling from his lips in disbelief. He wants to go, but doesn’t know what it will mean if he shows up back in Faerie after his mother had dropped him into the human realm. Let alone showing back up there amidst a war on the arm of Winter’s Prince. 

The other fae shakes his head, completely serious, “If we’re to stop this, stop our parents from destroying one another at last, then you have to come back. Time runs differently in Faerie. A day can seem like a year, and sometimes a full year is really a minute in the human realm. I can’t promise that this will all be here when we return, if we return. But your home is in Faerie, and don’t you want to see your parents again?”

Baekhyun deliberates on that, and puts up a finger for a moments peace as he decides to message Sehun. He has exams all today, and he had left his phone at his dorm for safekeeping for that very reason, so as not to have to hand it in before every test. Baekhyun knows that he has a good four hours remaining before Sehun actually even has access to see the message he’s typing in and sending. So he sends it in the hopes that he is going to return to the human realm before Sehun gets the message, or return and be able to take Sehun with him to show him every little piece of what is actually his home.

The warmth pooling in his stomach is only making him more nervous.

“I’ll go with you, but we aren’t going to your mother’s. We’re going to mine.” and Baekhyun doesn’t even know if he’s under the liberty to demand such things. He isn’t the one who knows how to cross the border into Faerie, or even know where it is for that matter.

“Very well.” Minseok breathes, nodding towards the door and blowing a breath out to snuff the incense burner out. A chill follows the breath and Baekhyun can feel - no, smell - the almost metallic taste of the magic that pours off of Minseok in waves. “Follow me.” 

And so he does.

 

When they arrive at the courted off woods that Baekhyun has called a second home all these years living in this endless city, he connects the dots to that first night.

“You were the one standing in the woods.” and then something else, “What were you saying?” 

Minseok glances at him with chilly eyes that turn soft and warm. Like snow melting in the sun. “I said your name. In our mother tongue.” and then he is there saying it again, the words falling soft from his lips and coming out like music to Baekhyun’s ears. He recognizes some of the lilts and dips in the language, but he doesn’t recognize it fully. “You can’t understand it here, you’ve lived as a changeling for too long that it’s almost lost on you.” Minseok almost looks sad while saying this.

“Changeling?” Baekhyun can remember the term from his reading, but he still doesn’t understand why he is one. A changeling was a faerie child swapped for a healthy human child in infancy. But from what Baekhyun knows and remembers, he was eight when his human, adoptive parents took him in, and he was definitely not sickly at the time.

Minseok amends, “Not truly, but there is no other word for what you are. Titania had you placed in the human realm to keep you safe from Mab, my mother. She’s always had a vengeance for Titania and her children. Your mother stole away a sickly human boy from that agency you were adopted from. You were the same age, and she melded all of the humans’ minds so that they believed you were the same person. Even melded your mind so that you forgot your origins, believed you were human. She sent Jongdae after you every year or so, to keep up the charade and make sure you didn’t remember anything.” and then he shrugged, “Jongdae didn’t come this year though, instead he asked me to come, to bring you back. He thought it would only be right, to have a son of Mab return a son of Titania.”

Baekhyun is left speechless, even as they enter further into the woods. They are far enough in that the light from the outside is barely visible. Instead, there is a soft silver light that richotes off of Minseok’s clothing, almost exactly like starlight.

Mab’s children are not all darkness and gloom, then.

When they come to the end of the forest, or what Baekhyun has always believed to be the end of the forest, there is an opening in the trees and a bending of their branches. There are circles of flowers and a center ring of lavender that Baekhyun finds himself drawn to. That is when he realizes this is where the scent of lavender came from that night, and it’s not from the actual flower, but from Minseok. The scent clings to him, just as the scent of freshly lain snow does. 

“Are you ready?” Minseok asks him, right before stepping between the tree branches and letting one arm slip between the invisible veil that masquerades as more forest. It leads into Faerie, and Baekhyun is about to step foot back in his home, where he was born.

“Yes.” and then he’s pulled through the veil and everything hurts.

 

It feels almost like falling, slipping into a void that tears him apart and then remakes him all at the same time. His eyes are closed, but he can feel a pressure at his hand, unsure of what it is.

There is a burning too, but a chill that remains like a tether, leading him into this world.

When Baekhyun opens his eyes at last he is met with Minseok, looking far more faerie like now that they are actually standing in Faerie. His ears are pointed in just the slightest, and it is like everything he has ever read in fantasy novels, the way it all looks like a sort of paradise. But he knows there is a darker reality to it that most books don’t touch upon.

Minseok nods then, jutting a chin out for Baekhyun to look down at himself.

What he sees is something he could have only imagined. Rather than the street-wear and hoodie he had been wearing before, he’s now clothed in this velvety silk material that screams Spring Court. It is the opposite of what Minseok is wearing in terms of color gradient. Where Minseok’s clothes draw from the night sky and the stars, Baekhyun’s clothes are soft ivory and jade. They do not speak entirely of sunlight, but that comes across in the warmth of his skin and the heat warming his hands. Like it has a mind of its own, magic courses its way through his veins and spark on his fingertips.

“Careful where you point those, your body has forgotten that it owned magic of its own, and now it’s just starting to remember. You might feel sick, maybe a little unsteady on your feet. If you need to sit down, we can.” 

But as Minseok says all of that, Baekhyun is feeling giddy and light. Like he can do anything. His first instinct is to let balls of light form in his palms like how he saw his mother do it in his visions of the past. When the first ball of light forms in his hand, a smile breaks on his lips. 

Before he’s able to do anything about it, a voice startles him and the light sky-rockets out of his palm, a disarray of magic at its finest.

A body propels into his in the next second, and he knows within seconds what, or who rather, it is. The cat knocks him down and sits on his chest for a solid minute just purring. As if they hadn’t seen one another in ages.

Though, Baekhyun really hasn’t seen Jongdae in ages…

“You’re home.” the cat’s voice is a clear male’s voice, and more familiar to Baekhyun than he can express. Like a safety blanket almost. It’s the sound of a long lost friend.

“I am.” he says, and he doesn’t know what else to say. There’s been so many years away from this place, but the memories are coming slowly. No longer jolting him out of reality to show themselves, but like remembering directions to his old high school, or remembering the walk home everyday when he was younger. Like second nature.

Minseok interrupts their moment, telling Baekhyun and the cat still left purring on his chest that they must go now.

“One of the Queens will sense us out here, I can’t imagine that will be a good thing unless I bring you safely to Titania first.” 

Jongdae agrees, stepping off of Baekhyun and growing to a beast’s height so that he can help him to his feet. He looks so different up close, rather than through a veil of a memory. Baekhyun feels emotional thinking about it. But he also wants to run back to get Sehun and bring him along for the adventure. His best friend Jongdae, and his best human friend Sehun together.

Though Baekhyun is worried then about the reality of bringing a human into Faerie.

“Climb on. It will take us hours to get to the palace if you two walk.” Jongdae offers, nudging for Baekhyun to climb onto his back. It is odd, hearing the cat-beast speak, but it is nothing if not also familiar. Faerie is an odd, strange place, and Baekhyun had called it home at one point in his life.

Why not now?

The two follow the cat’s directions, Baekhyun climbing on first, and Minseok after him. They hold tight to the thick fur at Jongdae’s back, and then they are off, bounding through the forest like it is nothing. 

Baekhyun cannot help but fear the Winter Queen though, Minseok’s words coming back to mind. He worries that the wrong Queen will find them first and then there will be nothing to stop this oncoming war. Because if Mab puts her hands on Baekhyun, the only thing stopping her from ripping him to pieces like the petals off a flower is Jongdae and Minseok.

And even then, he isn’t sure Jongdae, or Mab’s son will be able to stop Death itself.

 

There is chatter in the forest as Jongdae bounds through the trees, and Baekhyun finds himself remembering the tree nymphs’ faces and the way the rivers twist and turn, the naiads living below the currents seemingly happy to see him. He can hear their voices, garbled as they are behind leaves and water, all calling for their lost prince.

Jongdae halts in his fierce, strong strides, as there is a change in the wind. Minseok senses this too, and then they all still.

War has already started.

“We have to hurry. Now.” the Winter Prince growls out, that darkness and shadows mingling with the starlight. Baekhyun urges Jongdae in the direction he somehow automatically knows is the Winter border, and then it feels like his thundering steps are even louder as he bounds forward.

 

_ “What are you waiting for, dear Queen of Spring?” Mab taunts, voice raging against the chilled wind that she has created. Her warriors stand at her back, beasts of all shapes and sizes at their ready. The only thing she is missing is her now only living son. But he has always been soft, like powdered snow in the fields rather than the dark sheets of ice that cover frozen lakes. He is weak - Mab had come to terms with that ages ago. _

_ Titania stands on the other end of the border, her husband and King at her side. Mab had never felt the need for an immortal mate, and so her children all had different fathers, some even two mothers. Some that were born of the darkness as she was, and others still that had been born when her wolves howled at the endless night sky. Titania’s spawn were born of softer, more fragile things. Born of a wedded union or the warm winds on the backs of flowers. _

_ It sickened Mab to think that her daughter had fallen for a Princess of Spring. And now they were both dead. _

_ Forever gone and buried into the dirt between the borders. Mab can even see the tree that twists not far from her place in Winter, amassed directly on the border where they decided to die together. The branches are intertwined, frost covering one side’s leaves, while small animals crawl and scamper between the branches on the other side. The roots are set in place, and no matter how hard anyone on either side has tried to uproot the tree, it remains firm.  _

_ No one has been able to move or damage the tree since it sprouted there nearly five century ago. _

_ That still does not give Mab to a soft heart, however. In fact, her daughter’s death has only spurred her on, to seek out the damage of Titania’s livelihood and well being. To eventually turn to the mortal world and find the child she hid so many years ago, to keep him safe. _

_ “I will find him.” Mab threatens, her voice echoing off the snow crunching beneath her bare feet, “And when I do, you will regret every piece of what you did to my daughter those years ago!” _

_ But then there is no response from the Queen opposite her, only a thundering of steps pounding their way towards the border. Titania’s forces part like the sea, and suddenly Mab is face to face with a striped and ferocious beast, belonging neither to Spring or Winter, with no allegiance but to the sanctity of balance within Faerie. For the beast they had all come to know as Jongdae had been born - or made - far before either Titania or Mab came to be. _

_ Atop the beast, Mab notices, is the very son Titania had hidden in the mortal realm. And beside him, to Mab’s shock and flickering icy temper, is her own son, Minseok. Her gaze does not fail to cut back to the Spring Prince, however, especially not when his voice cuts the air and catches all of their attention, halting a war that his elder sister started so many century ago. _

 

“I’m right here.” Baekhyun answers, voice carrying itself as Jongdae halts just before the border. Both Queens are awestruck, and Baekhyun can feel the heat in his mother’s stare as she stares at him heartbroken. He wonders if she thought he would never return. He wonders if she is upset that he did, hoping to keep him safe even as Mab wanted to destroy Spring.

He won’t let that happen, and Minseok has promised him that his being here will stop it.

Baekhyun notices the tree growing on the direct center of the border then, as he steps carefully off of Jongdae’s back. Minseok follows suit, and the beast that Jongdae is remains a beast, the smaller striped cat he sometimes is choosing to stay hidden beneath the massive creature he currently is. 

Baekhyun remembers then, the memory his father told him of Mab’s daughter, and his elder sister, who had died so many years prior to his birth. He wonders briefly how many siblings he would have if they were all alive now. He wonders if this war would be so prevalent if that were the case.

The memory of his sister’s story - and of his brother’s too, the brother that died in vain all because Mab was a jealous, vengeful person - spark in his mind and then he’s taking a further step toward the border despite his mother’s prayers against it at his back. 

“Why are you doing this? Don’t you see that they’re happy?” and he points to the tree not far from any of them, its roots solid in their place, the branches mingling happily. Balance in its finest stages. “I would imagine my sister would be disappointed that you let this go on for so long,” he turns to face his mother, and that is when Minseok speaks up as well, addressing his own mother on the subject.

“Irene would have turned the world upside down for Spring, don’t you understand?”

The beasts and high fae that stand on either side of the border are quiet, waiting. They follow their monarch’s directions, but they are also loyal to the sons or daughters of Spring and Winter that are born of their Queens.

Because there will come a day when the Queens step down and let children - grown to adults - take their place on thrones of their respective Courts. There will come one day when this happens, but Baekhyun does not think it will be in his generation.

Although who knows, he’s immortal after all.

Mab and Titania exchange a look, but no one moves. Glacial looks and ones that form heat waves erupt between them, as they always have. Baekhyun and Minseok disrupt the tension by speaking to the Courts’ warriors. Pleading with them to return to their homes, return to the palaces, and do not strike war over their late Princesses happiness.

Minseok says in a solid, regal voice, “Go to your homes, seek retribution for things done wrong to you, not an age old wrong that my mother has asked you to take up for her. My sister was happy. She crossed the border and died with someone she loved, even if that someone was born of Spring. You respected Irene enough to fight for her in life, will you not fight for her wishes in death? Let this fall behind us.”

Baekhyun turns to his own people - and he feels in his heart that they are his, and he is theirs. A Prince of Spring that has returned and does not wish to leave ever again.

“I did not know her, can barely remember her name, but she was your Princess, just as I am your Prince. I know that I have been gone all this time, but that fact remains. I would be greatly honored if you all would wait for me at Court, so I can properly introduce you all to who I am now, and of what I have become. Don’t let a petty fight come between us. Faerie is more than wars and grudges. We would not have survived for the millenia we have if that were the case.”

It is slowly, but surely that both Courts follow their Princes instructions and fall back, returning to their homes in trees and lakes and skies. The Winter Court is the quickest to go, the Spring fae choosing to continue to glance and peer behind themselves to make sure their Prince is still there - making sure he is actually real. Baekhyun smiles at them, whispered promises that he will see them soon. They slowly make their ways back to Court, to their homes.

Until all that remains are the Queens, the Spring King, and the two Princes, among them a certain beast of a cat, as well as Winter wolves and Spring Elite.

“Are we through here Mother?” Minseok asks first, the Queen of Darkness living up to her name when shadows radiate off of her person in waves. She is angry, but cooling. She is impressed by Minseok’s ability to call back an entire army of Winter Court fae, as well as their war beasts. Baekhyun can almost see that the Queen is proud of her son.

“You will meet me back at Court.” she says, turning to a chariot pulled by ice wolves, their fangs dripping as they stare back at Spring, “We have much to discuss.” and then she is off, trusting her son in the presence of Titania, Oberon, and the Spring Prince - Baekhyun.

Baekhyun, who turns to his own parents and breaks into nothing but smiles.

Titania is the first to crush him to her, and he is not even surprised. The Spring Queen was always soft towards her children.

“My little flower.” she says against his skin, a radiance pooling between them as Queen and Prince reunite. It is like the sun erupting, dazzling sparks piercing the eyes of everyone who stands close by. Baekhyun can feel his heart swell and spill over. He didn’t know he would miss his mother this much, without even knowing who she really was a month ago.

But it is still like being born again, especially when his father claps him on the shoulder as well, greeting him home.

Minseok clears his throat, and this is when Titania releases Baekhyun. The son of Winter bows his head and the Queen takes this as a request to let the two Princes have a word in private. Baekhyun doesn’t know what all of that is about, but even Jongdae disappears back with the King and Queen, the sly cat even going so far as to wink at Baekhyun before disappearing.

His mother begs him to return to Court and the palace as soon as he is done, and with a kiss to her cheek, he promises. 

“I will see you soon.” he says, and she nods while taking hold of Baekhyun’s father’s hand. Titania is the only one to sprout wings and they are the strong feathered ones that Baekhyun remembers, her wingspan massive and strong as they pull the winds and propel them forward back towards the palace.

Silence stretches until Minseok laughs, a hearty thing, sunlight breaking through ice caps. Baekhyun is smiling and laughing then, too. 

But there is a shattering of peace, Baekhyun’s eyes going wide in disbelief as Minseok leans in. His heart hammers too fast, as well before he’s holding hands up.

“Whoa there, buddy.” Baekhyun says, eyes going wide as Minseok leans in, frosted eyelashes getting so close to him that he can feel Minseok’s chill even through his own startling bright and warm gleam. 

As he says this, the Winter Prince backs off, a questioning look in his eyes clearly asking him why he stopped their could-have-been kiss. He shouldn’t have to explain, but he realizes that he and Minseok, despite all that had been revealed in the past few weeks - hell even in the last few hours - they were brought up in different worlds, different cultures though they are the same species. Even if Minseok is Unseelie and Baekhyun is Seelie - a distinction that his mother, Queen Titania is surely to remind him of when he gets back to Spring Court.

“I still don’t really know how things are here, but where I was brought up, in the human world...I don’t kiss before the first date.” and Baekhyun for sure is lying, but he’s learned that faeries aren’t really barred from lying, not like Shakespeare and all those other authors that had so carelessly written about them. Faeries lie just like everyone else. Still, he lies hoping that Minseok will understand.

Minseok seems to be connecting the dots in his head before he asks, “Then I must take you on a first date, is this right?” and he’s still that slightly overly cautious person, words chosen carefully as if they can be used against him. His mother probably taught him that, just as Titania had when Baekhyun was younger, the memories of such things coming back to him slowly rather than all at once.

He nods, “Yeah, and maybe then I’ll let you kiss me.”

It is Minseok’s turn to be snarky and sly now, as his lips slip up into a stunning grin. Not so much filled with darkness as it is starlight.

“Or maybe you’ll be first to kiss me, Prince of Spring.”

Baekhyun can’t help the laugh that bubbles to his lips, nor the shake of his head as he stands there and stares at Minseok, warmth pooling in his stomach from more than just his own radiance and powers coming through. He has wished upon flower circles, stars, and phases of the moon long enough. 

Maybe the stars actually heard his wishes all those times prior, when he was in the human realm. He had asked for so little at the time, at least that was what he had thought. Asked - pleaded, really - for someone that wasn’t an asshole. Someone that treated Baekhyun as if he and his feelings mattered. 

Was he staring at him?

“We’ll see about that.” he follows up, grinning wide through the words before turning his back on Minseok and heading back to the Spring Court, leaving Minseok on the edge of Winter’s border. He looks back once to see the other faerie still standing there, the slight hint of gleaming, starlit and frost covered wings at his back, just barely seen over his black satin shoulders. 

Far enough away from Winter’s border, a few hundred feet actually, and Baekhyun wills his own wings to come to life at his back. He can feel the push of them, like energy springing to life just like Minseok showed him. And then they’re just as translucent as Minseok’s, though his are carved and created of sunlight and spring flowers blooming in their first season - vibrant and bright. And then he is off the ground and soaring.

Baekhyun finds his balance while soaring through the skies. And somehow the word is a culmination of everything that has happened over the past few weeks, and it’s starting to make sense at last...

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that crystals and similar practices do not replace actual medical advice. They are not a supplement for medical practices and advice. With that being said though, if you're curious as to what the crystals/incense I use in the fic are good for here's the descriptions I found for them online:
> 
> amethyst - protection against self-deception, witchcraft, spiritual and psychic attacks. also said to assist in bringing pleasant dreams and relieving headaches  
> crystal quartz - used to balance one's body and clear the mind, releases negativity and amplifies energy to align with light and clarity  
> garnet - stone for bringing joy and hope to the user, as well as help lessen anger especially when directed internally. also said to bring warmth and light "an inner fire" within the wearer  
> citronella (incense) - lemon scent, the plant is typically used to ward off mosquitos or other summer bugs. incense is used to ward off negativity, cleanse and exorcise evil energies  
> lavender (plant) - associated with the crown chakra, often used for healing. also said to be a symbol of grace, serenity, and calmness.


End file.
